We just finished up three amazing listening sessions at Tyee and Chief Sealth High Schools last week and yesterday at Evergreen. (Rainier Beach session is scheduled for later this month — stay tuned!) At each session, FEEST youth leaders got to share the results of the over 650 student surveys taken at our four schools. Here are some highlights from the survey:
- Approximately 1 in 4 students skip school lunch every day
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Only about 1 in 6 students reported feeling full after eating school lunch
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73% of students said they would eat lunch more often if there were fresher items and more variety on the menu
In total, over 125 students came through to the listening sessions to talk about their experiences with school food and how they’d like to see it change. Here’s what they said:
“Having the same rotation of food all the time doesn’t make me excited to eat lunch.”
“I want Vietnamese food! Rice! Ooh, and dumplings! Maybe udon noodles?”
“How about a more rounded meal with meat and side dishes like vegetables and rice.”
“When food is good, it puts you in a happier state of mind.”
“I don’t usually come to events like this but it was pretty lit!”
“We have a lot of opinions and there’s a lot of things that we can fix if we work together.”
Based on what we heard from students, FEEST youth leaders presented to the district administrators about their hopes for school food:
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Fresh food: All meals to be cooked on campus (not frozen) using, fresh, local ingredients
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Variety: One culturally relevant entree on the menu per month
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Affordable: School food should be free for all students
Look for more info coming soon on how FEEST youth leaders are building upon this work.